Monday, July 1, we will meet in person.
Address for OHMC meditation space:
3812 Northampton St. NW, Washington DC 20015
Please arrive a few minutes early so we can invite the bell on time. You may also arrive 15 minutes early to practice working meditation by helping us set up cushions.
OPTIONAL NEWCOMERS ORIENTATION THIS MONDAY AT 6:15PM. SIGN UP HERE.
Dear friends,
This week: we will meet Monday from 7-8:30PM EDT in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EDT online, and Friday 12-1PM EDT in person.
On Monday evening, we will continue our summer book club reading of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Fragrant Palm Leaves. We will read through August 19.
Please note there is no need to own the book or read the section in advance to enjoy the practice with us. Nor is there a need to attend every practice to benefit from the readings, as each Monday practice will continue to be a stand alone and complete practice. For an introduction to the book, read this.
This Monday, Annie will facilitate and we will be discussing pages 21-42. (Each weeks reading pages are below.)
In the first part of Fragrant Palm Leaves, Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay), while staying in the woods of Northern New Jersey, writes and reminisces about the creation of his first practice center, Phuong Boi, in the highlands of central Vietnam. At the end of the first section, Thay describes the evening that he and a few others spent their first night in their new home.
In this week’s section, Thay returns to his teaching position at Princeton and continues to write about the creation of his beloved Phuong Boi.
Some of my favorite excerpts include the following:
When moon and forest were together, they created a profoundly marvelous and mysterious atmosphere, unlike any we had experienced before. The silence was total, yet we could hear moon and forest speaking to each other. They were no longer two, but had become one. If you took away the moon, the forest would cease to be. If you took away the forest, the moon would not be. We wouldn’t be standing by the moonlit window if moon and forest ceased to be.
…
I could feel the ancient tribesman in myself awakening. I felt the urge to leave civilization behind, throw away my bookish knowledge, tear off my clothes, and enter the forest naked. To do what? I didn’t know. But I would enter the forest’s depth. Even if wild animals devoured me, I knew I would feel no pain, terror, or regret. I might even enjoy being devoured.
…
Mornings at Phuong Boi were as pristine as a blank sheet of paper, pure white except for a pink blush along the edges. We awoke with the awareness that twenty-four brand new hours were before us, and we would not allow anyone or anything to violate this time of ours – no meetings, appointments, or waiting food buses. The whole day was for us.
…
Living in the mountain forest, our strides and gestures grew bold and strong. Instead of joining palms and bowing to greet each other in the traditional manner we raised one hand up high and waved. We didn’t walk along the mountain paths with measured, stately steps. We walked fast, and often we even ran. We yelled to one another from one hill to the next.
…
I agreed with Hung’s sentiment – we did not own Phuong Boi; Phuong Boi owned us.
…
In the symphony of the storm, I heard a call from the heart of the cosmos. I wanted to turn into an areca tree or become a branch bending in the wind. I wanted to be a bird testing the strength of its wings against the wind. I wanted to run outside in the rain and scream, dance, whirl around, laugh and cry. But I didn’t dare. I feared my mother’s scolding. So instead I sang for all I was worth. No matter how loud I sang, my voice could not be heard above the roar and crash of the storm… Just yesterday I knelt by the window to listen to a symphony of rain, earth, forest, and wind.
In these and other words in this section, I hear Thay’s insights of Interbeing of moon, forest, and himself, and between the Buddha and Mara. I hear his deep reverence for the natural world and the deep listening to his own connection to that world. I also hear the rebellion and youth and modernization of the practices that he loved and also understood were too rigid to be of benefit to the new world. And so much more.
What do you read in these quotes and in the pages of the book? When have you felt the call of the forest and the storms or felt the need to run and yell or sing at the top of your lungs? How does all of this relate to your mindfulness practice and your life?
On Monday, after our meditation, we will have time to reflect on all of this and more.
with love,
annie.
Upcoming reading of Fragrant Palm Leaves:
7/8 pages 43-78
7/15 pages 79-112
7/22 Mindfulness Training
7/29 pages 113-132
8/5 pages 133-152
8/12 pages 153-178
8/19 pages 179-end
8/26 Mindfulness Training